This Ain’t Your Mama’s Grandparents Day

With all due respect to generations of grandparents who came before, boomers are slowly making inroads on yet another sacred, Hallmark-bedazzled day.

Both of Life in the Boomer Lane’s grandmothers were long gone before LBL was born. But she had a step-grandmother. Goldie. Goldie was one of the gentlest, softest spoken people on earth. There was no doubt that she loved LBL, her only grandchild. There was no doubt that she would have done anything to keep LBL safe and happy. But she was so passive, that often, she seemed like a spectator to her own life. Because her husband, LBL’s grandfather, forbade her to attend night school, she remained illiterate in the English language. Because her husband didn’t see the need to pay the money to renew her meds for hypertension, she died of congestive heart failure at age 73.

Had LBL used her as a model of grandparenthood, she would now be writing about the joys of being a grandparent in a very different way. She would be talking about the too-profound-for-words feeling she gets when she interacts with her grandchildren. Or, if she were writing one of her humorous posts, she would talk about all the ways that grandchildren are superior to children. Instead, she chooses to go in another direction.

LBL’s grandchildren are lucky. They live in loving, committed families and have parents who have strong, healthy relationships and enough financial resources to provide them the kinds of experiences that LBL, herself, could not even have dreamed of when she was growing up. They have hands-on grandparents who are healthy, strong, and financially sound. Their grandparents have taken them on a Caribbean cruise, to Disney World, on camping trips, to Turkey, and to a resort in Mexico. They have taken them to museums, to fairs and festivals, to Broadway shows, and to any number of kiddie-friendly events in the places in which they live. They happily provide full time child care when needed.

One might think that it would be impossible for LBL to do more for her grandchildren than what is already being done. But she realized that wasn’t so. The experiences these children have been provided are being done against the backdrop of a planet in trouble. The beaches they play on are at risk. The campgrounds they stay in are at risk. The activities they engage in are being more and more threatened by weather patterns that are increasingly volatile and destructive.

In small ways, they have already been impacted. LBL’s granddaughter’s family, residents of Seattle, had to cancel a planned vacation to another part of Washington state last month, because of the fires that were raging in the area. Storm Sandy knocked out power for weeks at the home of LBL’s grandsons’ aunt and cousins on Long Island. Their great-grandmother died during the storm. As the years go on, weather-related challenges will have an even deeper and longer-lasting impact.

For LBL, the answer was clear. She would use whatever energy she had to work toward the health of a planet that would allow her grandchildren to continue to live the very fortunate lives they live now. For them, and for the grandchildren of all other grandparents, she would take a stand. In years to come, when her grandchildren would look her in the eye and ask, “When you saw these things happening, what did you do?” She would not want her answer to be “Nothing.”

And so she joined a newly-formed, national advocacy group, Elders Climate Action. On Wednesday and Thursday, in honor of Grandparents Day (September 13), and, as a physical manifestation of her love for her grandchildren, her future grandchildren and for the grandchildren of others, she joined well over 100 other grandparents to lobby Congress to support the Clean Power Plan and the Carbon Fee and Dividend legislation.

The two days were thrilling, exhausting, uplifting, and empowering. She had the same heady feelings she had as she did back in college, when she marched and participated in sit-ins to end the Vietnam War (minus the energy level and with the addition of blistered feet). Back then, the political health of her country was uppermost in her mind. Now it was the physical health of her grandchildren and the planet.

Elders Climate Action, along with a host of other national organizations, is relatively new, as is the growing awareness that many people have to do something before it is too late. LBL urges all grandparents (and parents) to do this for the children. Ask yourselves what kind of world you want them to inhabit, and take action to make that happen.

We have given our grandchildren Disney World. Now, let’s give them the world, period.

So well said, as always Renee! We need to make things right for future generations as we, the largest segment of the population (76million!)and the most powerful voting bloc actually can turn this around as we did so many national and global issues in the past! We were born into a generation who seems to have been charged with the responsibility and concern for lives beyond our own. Let’s do this!

Many thanks for acting upon your concerns and sharing your story. It should have to be so hard to convince our Congress to act for our greater good, but their pockets are lined by funders/ polluters who tell them to ignore the obvious. One of our presidential candidates is on record saying global warming is a hoax invented by the Chinese to steal our jobs. One presidential candidate was caught in a false statement quoting a blogger as a source against scientific opinion per Politifacts. And, one presidential candidate forbids as governor officials on his state to use the words climate change or global warming. The truth is every major US science organization says climate change is real and man-influenced. And, we have about a ten year window now, to make a difference. So, the question we must ask ourselves do you want to believe a consistent basis of scientific opinion or a politician who will say anything?

Although I knew that many in Congress were guided by something other than personal conviction, I hadn’t realized to what extent. What surprised me was that the Koch Brothers continue to promote the use of fossil fuel, when even the oil and gas industry are starting to accept responsibility for the problem. And they also do so, in spite of growing popular awareness that we do have a problem. My strong belief is that many in Congress who vote against climate change regulation are privately in favor of it. The only thing that will change the situation will be a groundswell of public opinion. Votes will trump (I hate to use that word) money. That’s the power we have.

Thanks, Phyllis. And if my actions and my words help to inspire that, I am thrilled. We hold such power. If we use it for the benefit of our grandchildren’s generation, we really can change the world for them.

I`m watching in awe as the Koch brothers and others squelch solar power i CA. Doesn`t it just make sense to use the sun for power in a state that`s so sunny? SO, I might be joining with you- I`ve reached the level of disgust which might actually translate to action.

Excellent points, Jean. Those of us who are involved, are fortunate that our health allows us to be so. And, of course, the bottom line is that everyone gets to choose however they will spend their time and energy. Hopefully, each of us will be healthy enough to go in whichever direction we want.

Good morning Renee. Thanks for turning me on to the Elders Climate Action group. Last Thursday on Capitol Hill was an education, an adventure and an introduction to some truly amazing people in ECA and in Congress. I was blown away by the work Les and Joni Grady and others are doing in theShenandoah Valley. I decided to take a page out of their advocacy play book and ask our county board members to draft a resolution asking Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative which, according to Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, is responsible for reducing power sector carbon emissions in member states by 24 percent since 2009. Will keep you posted. p.s. Les and Joni highly recommendedIvy Main (Chapter Chair, Virginia Sierra Club) as a source of useful information.

Sorry for the delay in responding, Mark. I’ve just returned from Turkey. I’m so happy you were able to join the event. It was a real eye-opener for me, as well. Yes, please keep me in the loop about what others are doing. At some point, we have to tip the scales in a positive way, right?

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